Vale Germanus
by Arya Daeriel
Summary: When a secret is revealed about Thor's true birth and his place in line for the throne is passed down to Balder, how far will the youngest prince of Asgard go to make sure that title stays his? Would he go so far as to kill one of his brothers?


**Disclaimer: Don't own, never have, never will.**

**A/N: And here we have a random fic inspired by a picture that came from, I'm guessing, DeviantArt. It depicted Thor coming to Loki at 3:00 am, telling him how he was in truth the illegitimate child of Odin. It was SUPPOSED to be a parody, but somehow it turned into…. this. And it is AU considering that peoples do know who Loki is…. **

Loki covered his head with a pillow in an attempt to block out the banging that was invading what had been a rather nice dream. He grinned slightly at the memory of his dream self watching Thor suspended from a tree by his underpants. The banging persisted and now a voice joined it.

"Loki! Wake up!"

The trickster groaned. What did his lunkhead of a brother want at this hour? What time was it anyway…. Loki poked his head out from underneath the pillow to glance at the clock. Three o'clock in the morning. That's when he was getting dragged up for some reason or another, three o'clock in the morning. He sighed and sat up, the blankets falling off him. If he didn't get up and see what Thor wanted, his brother would be out there banging all night.

Loki dragged himself out of bed and stumbled across the carpeted floor, only pausing to grab a dark green robe that was hanging over the back of a chair. Wrapping it around himself, the prince of Asgard yanked open the door to reveal an agitated Thor hopping from one foot to the other.

"I believe that the bathroom is down another door, brother," Loki said, slightly amused at Thor's actions. He then sighed. "Come on in and tell me what you want," he said turning away from the door and heading for the chair. Thor followed him in, wringing his hands.

"Loki, you're not going to believe what father just told me…."

"Thor," Loki interrupted. He swore, if he was coming to tell of another thing their father had set up to celebrate his heroics…. "it's three in the morning."

"Loki, I'm an illegitimate child! A bastard! Daddy said that Balder is his only legitimate son, so he will be a king of Asgard and I'm…. I'm free to go!"

Really now? Wasn't Odin just a wonderful father? Loki thought sarcastically. "Well, congratulations, Thor. Welcome to my side of the tunnel."

"Congratulations?" Thor roared. "I just found out that I'm the bastard son of the King of Asgard and you're saying 'congratulations'? I can _never _be king now! Balder the 'Beautiful' will have that title now!"

"Oh, your life is just so horrible, isn't it now." It was always him, the throne, and the glory with Thor. He never managed to think about anybody but himself. "Of course my being a Jotun is absolutely nothing at all, is it? Every single Asgardian being terrified I'll turn into the blue monster I am can't even compare to the fact that you'll never be king, can it? Why don't you just be thankful that nobody will ever know what you truly are."

Thor blinked, clearly not expecting his brother's little rant. "Brother… I didn't think…."

"Of course you didn't think," the trickster spat. "You never think. Now get out of my room before you regret ever setting foot in it."

Thor tripped over his feet in his hurry to get out of the room and away from the angry prince. Once his brother was gone, Loki turned towards the window, gazing out at the starry night. He supposed it wasn't completely his brother's fault that he was so hung up on glory and titles. That was how Odin had raised him. He had raised him like the heir to the throne, but now it was revealed that he wasn't. People often talked about the greatness of the Allfather. Nobody knew of the lies he told.

Loki sighed and leaned his head against the window frame. Everything had been so much easier before he had learned of his true heritage. He heard a click behind him and the sound of the door opening.

"Thor, when I tell you to get out, I mean for you to _stay _out," Loki said, not turning away from the window. There was no bumbling answer from Thor however. "Thor," Loki turned around, "I told you to…." Loki stopped mid-sentence for it was not Thor that had just entered his room. A hooded figure dressed all in black was standing in the middle of the room, a dagger in his hand.

Loki couldn't really say it was the first time someone had tried to assassinate him, because it certainly wasn't. When you've lived for over a thousand years and happen to hold the title of Prince of Asgard, it was inevitable that people would try to get rid of you.

"So, who decided it would be a good idea to get rid of me this time?" Loki said nonchalantly while moving towards his bed.

"No one of consequence."

Loki's hand slipped under his pillow and grasped the cool handle of one of his knives. He had been keeping one there for quite some time now and it was a good thing he had.

"Though I believe your brother would be very pleased to hear of your demise."

Loki froze. Thor wouldn't…. no, his brother would never do that….. they may have had their disagreements, but Thor would never go so far as to have him assassinated. Would he? Tightening his grip on the knife handle, he flew at the assassin and pinned him to one of the walls, holding the knife to his throat.

"You lie," Loki hissed, refusing to believe his brother would want him dead.

"I'm afraid not, princeling. Maybe you shouldn't argue with your brother so much, he might want a bit of revenge."

"No…." Loki whispered. In his shock, he released his attacker and stumbled backwards.

"Poor little prince…. always lied to, misled into believing his family loved him…" The assassin grinned as he came towards Loki. "Maybe it would be an act of kindness to end your life."

Loki snapped. He shot forward a few feet and drove his knife deep into the middle of the assassin's chest before he could do so much as blink. Loki yanked the knife out and watched as the assassin fell to the ground, his eyes staring blankly up at the ceiling while his mouth wore a strange twisted grin of satisfaction.

Pausing to grab another knife from his desk, Loki started towards the door. He needed to 'speak' to his brother. His hand was on the door handle, half-way through turning it when a sharp pain shot through his side. His hand left the door handle and clutched his midsection. His hand felt something hard, the handle of a knife a warm and wet substance seeped through his fingers. The trickster drew his hand away and looked at it. It was stained red with blood. He fell to his knees and glanced back at the body of the assassin then down at the knife embedded in his middle. He must have been holding it when Loki stabbed him, stabbing the prince in turn.

His vision fading, Loki attempted to pull himself up by the door handle. He had to find out if Thor had really betrayed him like this. He fell back though, his bloody hand slipping off the handle, leaving a red print on the gold. The prince of Asgard fell to the side, his vision fading.

**~!~**

Thor rolled over on his bed, attempting to get into a comfortable position, but he was too restless. What was he to do now? He no longer needed to stay in Asgard, he could go off and live as a hermit in Niflheim, the realm of ice, for all his father cared. But what about Loki, his brother? They were pretty much in the same boat now. The blond warrior sighed and rolled over again. And why did he have such an overwhelming urge to go and apologize to Loki? After ten more minutes of contemplating, Thor sighed and sat up, pushing back the scarlet bedclothes. If he did not go and speak to his brother, chances are he would be up for the rest of the night.

Closing his bedroom door behind him with a soft click, Thor padded barefoot down the hall to Loki's room. He knocked on the door and called out, "Loki? Can I come in?" There was no reply. "Loki, I just want to apologize," he tried again, but still there was silence. Thor had the urge to bang his head against the door. Why did his brother have to be so stubborn? "I'm coming in Loki."

Loki heard his brother's calls through the half conscious haze that was his mind. He almost wanted to answer them with the last bit of his strength, but why should he answer the one person he had ever truly trusted that had betrayed him. He heard the door open and felt the vibration of his brother's footsteps on the floor as he walked in. If he turned his head slightly to the left he could just make out his brother's feet in the darkness.

"Loki? Where are you?"

The vibrations came closer as his brother advanced further into the room. Then there was a burst of pain as something, something that was in all likelihood Thor's foot, collided with Loki's midsection eliciting a cry of pain from the Trickster. Loki curled in on himself, his hand clutching at the wound in his midsection and his eyes squeezed shut.

"Loki?"

There was the sound of a small lamp being lit and he felt the heat of it being brought near his face as his brother kneeled down beside him. It took merely seconds for Thor to find the wound, the knife still embedded in it.

"Oh, Loki, who did this to you, brother?" the God of Thunder wondered aloud.

"You did," Loki hissed, fighting against the pain and the darkness calling him. "You did this, Thor…. "

**I have no idea how this happened. It went from a parody to an assassination attempt to possibly a tragedy, depending upon whether I kill Loki off or not. So.. er…. review? *holds out Loki's helmet for reviews* Oh! Ands I's considering writing a fic based off this possibly…. that goes far more into the story than a twoshot…. but don't expect it for several months. **


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